India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has appointed Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO and managing director of IT solutions firm Mindtree, as its new chairman.

In a statement Monday, the organization said the newly elected executive council anointed Krishnakumar to the top role with immediate effect, taking over the role from N. Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD of TCS.

Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO of Mindtree (credit: Nasscom)

Also for the period 2013/14, R. Chandrasekaran, group chief executive for technology and operations at Cognizant, was appointed vice chairman. Current president Som Mittal will continue in his role.

He must also answer the calls of software product development companies demanding greater representation in Nasscom. In February, thirty Indian software companies from Nasscom decided to form their own grouping called the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table (iSpirt) to look after the interests of their sector.

"I firmly believe that emerging companies and startups are key growth engines for the future of this industry," said Krishnakumar, adding that he previously chaired the emerging and small and midsize businesses initiative for Nasscom.

He added: "With our collective vision, we aim to help this budding segment, along with the rest of the industry to make it a trustworthy, respected, innovative, and society-friendly industry in the world."

Last month, NASSCOM members elected Krishnakumar and 17 other candidates as executive council representatives, once again none of which were from SMBs despite pledges to restructure its mindset and direction.

Mahesh Sharma earned his pen licence in his homeland, where he covered the technology industry for ZDNet, SMH, Sky Business News, and The Australian--first as an FTE, and later as a freelancer. The latter fueled his passion for startups and empowered a unique perspective on entrepreneurs' passion to solve problems using technology. Armed...
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